Mechanism for electrically indicating and recording lock-keys.



A. L. SOHM.

MECHANISM FOR ELECTRIGALLY INDIGATING AND RECORDING LOOK KEYS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1910.

Patented 0011.6, 1914.

Wain/awe a.-

M ZZA.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED LOUIS SOI-IM, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA; ASSIGNOR TO THE SOHM ELEC- TRIC SIGNAL & RECORDING COMPANY, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, A CORPORA- TION OF ARIZONA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

Application filed'september 13, 1910. Serial No. 581,794.

'with contact mechanism which is operated by the turning of the key in the lock.

The idea is to control circuits by the turning of the key and to select circuits by the form of the key, so that, any particular person may be identified by way of electrically operated means in these circuits by the form I of key he carries.

To the ends above pointed out, I provide a contact maker which rotates with the r0- tation of the key in the associated lock, and a plurality of contacts in different planes. The use of one key operates the contact maker in one plane, while the use of another key operates it in another plane and, as will appear, the actuation of the contact maker in different planes makes the different independent circuits.

My invention is embodied in the arrange ment shown in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1, in the main, is a central'v'ertical section of the lock, the contact mechanism, and the associated parts; Fig. 2 is a face view of the contact mechanism; Fig. 3 is a detail view, in plan, of part of the bolt throwing mechanism associated with the lock; Fig. 4. is a detail view, in elevation of part of the means for connecting the key and the contact maker; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the bank of contacts with which the wiper to be described makes contact, being drawn on a larger scale.

Like reference characters are applied to the same parts throughout the various fig ures.

I illustrate an ordinary Yale lock barrel at 10, set in a door 11. The front of the barrel is provided with an extension flange 12, which forms an escutcheon, and the barrel as a whole is provided with'the longitudinal bore 18 in which the rotatable keyholder 14 is disposed. A plurality of tumblers 15 are confined in suitable transverse bores against the tension of small coil' with the well-known Yale system. The barml 10 is held in place from the inside of the door by means of the screws 16, 16.

On the inside of the door, in back of the lock barrel 10, is a shell or casing 17 which may be secured in place by means of screws, as shown. The back plate 18 of this shell or casing is provided with an opening in axial alinement with the key-holder 14 and a bolt throwing tube 19 passes through this opening and, further, is journaled in a registering recess in the casing, as illustrated. "his belt throwing tube is operativel and adjustably connected with the key-hol er 14 by means of a groove and tongue arrangement 20, 22, shown in detail in Fig. 3, and a=finger 52 is carried by the tube 19 for the purpose of throwing the bolt mechanism which forms no part of my invention, which may be of any suitable construction, and which is, therefore, not shown in detail.

An adjusting plate 21 is mounted to slide longitudinally in the key slot of the keyholder 14, as illustrated in Fig. 1. This adjustingplate' passes into the bifurcated end of a rod 24, which is mounted in the tube 19 and the shell or casing 17 in axialalinement with the key-holder and which will bereferred to hereinafter as the wiper-rod. A

screw 25 holds the adjusting plate 21 and the wiper rod'24 in any determined position. The adjusting plate 21 is provided, at its forwardend, with an oblique engaging surface 23which corresponds with the usual oblique surface on the end of a Yale key. Thus, when a key 50 is inserted into the keyslot until the flange 51"thereof engages the front of the key-holder or the escutcheon, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the end of the key will engage'the adjusting plate 21 for a purpose which will be pointed out presently.

Upon the outside of the shell or casing 17 I hinge a. supplementalcylindrical shell 30 tween a pin thereon and the endof the tube 19, tends to hold the wiper 26 in engagement with the casing 17, thus determining the extreme right-hand position (Fig. 1) of the wiper-rod and the parts associated therewith. When a key is inserted it is adapted, by its length, to determine the position of the wiper rod and consequently the plane in which the wiper is rotated when the key is turned, it being understood that the turning of the key carries the wi er with it through the medium of the adjusting plate which fits in the key-slot, as before explained.

The contact arrangement w1th which the wiper 26 is associated is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5. In this form of my invention the contacts are arranged in three banks, 33, 34 and 35. wiper, when the lock is closed or when it is open, is between the banks 33 and 34, as illustrated in Fig. 2. In the case ofthe contact bank 35,'the contacts of the various planes .are carefully insulated from cash other. An insulating ring 36 is disposed directly upon the part 17. Upon that ring a plate 37 is disposed, then an insulatrng ring 38, then a contact plate 39, then an 1nsulating piece 40, then a contact plate 41, then an insulating piece 42, then a contact plate 43, then an insulating piece 44, then a contact plate 45, then the insulating piece 46, then the contact plate 47, then the lIlSlllating piece.47', and then the mechanically connecting plate 48, the entire arrangement being held in place by means of an electrically isolated screw 48. It will now be seen that there are four interspaces 49 and I point out that the present arrangement is, therefore, provided to identify four diiferent keys, although, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, arrangements could be made for any reasonable number. The wiper 26 is adapted to bridge the adjacent plates and it will thus be noted that there are, therefore, four contact combinations which might be closed. Other contact mechanism will suggest itself to those I skilled in the art, but this is ample to disclose the spirit of my invention.

It will be noted that in Fig. 1 I have indicated a scale with the notations, 01 02 03, and 04, near the forward end of The normal position of the the adjusting plate 21. This scale is intended to designate the different efi'ective lengths of the keys, from the flange 51 to the surface 23...11; is this effective length of each of the keys'which is intended to identify them, since the engagement between each of them and the adjusting plate moves the wiper 26 into a predetermined plane for engagement with predetermined contacts. Thus, whencthe 03 key is inserted, it engages the end of the adjusting plate 21, as shown, and brings the wiper 26 into .one operating plane so that it will make engagement with certain contacts.

When the 02 key is inserted it brings the wiper into a difierent plane where it can make engagement with other contacts, etc.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In combination a lock having a rotatable key holder, a sllding member extending into and rotatable with said key holder, a

plurality of contacts in different planes at right angles to the line of sliding movement, and a contact maker carried by said slidingrmember in the zone of said contacts, said sliding member beingarranged to be engagedby a key inserted in said holder to move said contact maker into one of said planes.

2. In combination, a lock having a rota.- table key holder, a sliding rod extending into said key holder, a plurality of contacts arranged circularly around said rod, and a contact maker carried by said rod and arranged in its movement with the key holder to engage said contacts.

3. In combination, a lock having a rotatable key holder, a sliding member extending into and rotatable with said key holder, a plurality of contacts in different planes at right angles to the line of sliding movement, a contact maker carried by said member, and resilient means tending to hold said contact maker in one of said planes, said sliding member being arranged to be'engaged by keys inserted in said holder to move said contact maker into the other planes.

4. In combination, a lock, a set of contacts arranged side by side, an opposing contact, said set of contacts and said opposing contact being longitudinally movable relatively to each other by the insertion of a key in I keys for engaging with said rod, a lurality of contacts insulated from each ot er, and

a contact maker carried by said rodand brought into operative relation with certain uau-11 of said contacts to the exclusion of the others depending upon the length of the key employed. I

6. In combination, a lock having a rotatable key holder, a member rotatable with and movable longitudinally of said key holder, an electrical contact at a short distance from said member, and a contactmaker carried by said member normally out of the plane of said contact and arranged by the insertion of the key and rotation of the key holder to be caused to engage said contact.

7. In combination, a lock having a rotatable key holder, a member movable longitudinally of and operatively connected to rotate with said key holder, a plurality of contacts in different lanes at right angles to the line of longitudinal movement, and a contact maker carried by said member in the zone of said contacts, said member being arranged to be engaged by a key inserted in said holder to move said contact maker into one of said lanes.

8. In combination, a lock having a rotatable key holder, a rod movable longitudinally of and foperatively connected to rotate with said key holder, a plurality of piles.

of contacts arranged circularly around said rod, and a contact maker carried by said rod and arranged in its movement with the key holder to engage said contacts.

9. In combination, a lock having a rotatable key holder, a member movable longitudinally of and operatively connected to rotate with said key holder and two contact elements, one carried by said movable member and the other stationary, one of said contact elements comprising a pile of contacts, and the other contact element being in the form of a wiper adapted to be brought into the plane of any of said contacts by the 10m gitudinal movement of said member, the rotary movement thereof bringing the wiper into actual engagement with the selected opposing contact.

10. In combination, a lock having a rotatable key holder, a sliding rod extending into said key holder, a plurality of contacts arranged in superposed relation at a short distance from said sliding rod, and a contact maker carried by said rod and arranged in its longitudinal movement to select any of said contacts andin its rotary movement to engage any of said contacts.

11. In combination, a lock having a rotatable key holder, a longitudinally movable member rotatable with said key holder, a plurality of contacts in each of a number of different planes at right an les to the line of longitudinal movement, an a contact maker carried by said member in the zone of said contacts, said member being arranged to be engaged by keys of different forms to move said member and said contact maker selectively into one of said planes.

12. In combination, a lock, a key, a longitudinall movable member arranged to rotate wit the key, a plurality of contacts in different planes at right angles to the line of longitudinal movement, and a contact maker carried by said member and adapted by the insertion of keys to be brought into the various planes of said contacts.

Signed at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles, and State of California, this (Sthday of April, A. D. 1910.

ALFRED LOUIS SOHM.

Witnesses:

F. W. HART, J. S. ZERBE. 

